Location

Preparation

Your research for the job interview preparation should give you a better insight on:

The Job Description.

What business the organisation is in.

Hiring process procedures.

Early experiences on the job.

Corporate culture.

General Organisational Structure.

History.

Career paths.

What to wear for a job interview.

General knowledge about current state of industry.

Protocols before and after the interview.

The location of the interview.

Size of organization.

Number of employees.

How long has the company being operating.

Are there any subsidiary companies involved in this company.

Who are the major competitors of this company.

Who is the direct supervisor.

Information on your direct supervisor.

Interview Tips

Some General Job Interview Tips

• Do not smoke, chew gum, or eat garlic beforehand.

• Wear suitable interview clothes.

• Take copies of your CV with you.

• Arrive on time for your job interview.

• Any applications handed before the interview begins, are to be filled in as accurately as possible, make sure they match the information in your Cv and Cover Letter.

• Always greet the interviewer by his/her last name and try to pronounce it correctly.

• Have a good firm handshake.

• Look alert and interested. Scan the room once and then keep your eyes on the interviewer.

• Wait until you are offered a chair before you sit down.

• Stress your achievements.

• Always conduct yourself professionally and if something beyond your control occurs, show a sense of humor.

• Be enthusiastic and show it in your replies and body language.

• Answer the interview question by more than a simple yes or no but try not to go over the 60 second limit.

• Avoid at all cost complaining about your current or former employer in your job interview.

• Do not answer questions about politics or religion if the job is completely unrelated.

• Do not raise salary discussions on your first interview - this is usually done on the second interview. Make sure you do your wage research before hand.

Online Job Search Tips

Performing an online job search should be simple. When you select job search sites to use in your search for a job, make sure that you pick one that is easy to navigate, that has a good number of open positions listed, and that has features that will make applying for jobs easy. Searching for a job can be very irritating, especially if you only have a small window of time in which you need to find a job before you run out of money. The last problem that you need to encounter is having problems conducting your online job search. This is why it is important to select a site that is easy to navigate.

It should not take you an hour to finally get from a selection page on a site to the page that gives you the actual open positions listings. While it is important to answer questions that will guide you to positions that you are qualified for, no one has the time to spend an hour answering one hundred questions. These sites need to be easily navigable and have tools and features that will help you to speed up your search, not impede it. You also want to be able to find a site that has a decent number of job listings available. Don’t be fooled by sites that claim to have tons of open positions only to find out that they are from disreputable companies, make sure that the site offers real open positions.

Finally, you will need to find a site that will make applying for a job easy. Most sites will let you upload your resume or immediately apply for a position. Sites with these features will make your hunt for a job much easier and faster. Given the amount of time that you will be spending searching for a job online, you need to find a search engine that is running to maximize the time that you spend by making the site easy to use and making sure that the job postings are current and from reputable companies.

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10 Things Successful Job Seekers Do To Get Employed Quicker

When I first came into recruitment, one of the things that interested me was why successful job seekers were successful. On initial analysis they were no better qualified, skilled or capable than any other human beings that they were applying against, and yet they got employed quicker, and in doing so applied for fewer jobs.

My research also led me to asking the question why we - recruitment and human resources - as an industry rejected good job applicants? Were there better techniques and tactics that these people were not applying, that conversely the successful job seekers were?

The answer to both question was yes, and here are the top ten issues that successful job seekers apply to get employed quicker.

1. They have a specific target job in mind: Just like successful people in life have specific goals, successful job seekers have specific jobs or roles in mind. These fulfil three employer questions: that they have the required skills, qualifications and experiences; that this position is the next logical step in their planned career path; that they have a next step in their career

2. They can communicate who they are and what they offer: they know what they offer, what the market seeks, and can communicate this to a potential employer. Many call this a lift pitch

3. They research the market: lets say that you were the worlds best driver of horse drawn carriages. Everyone you talked to today would tell you that there were few paying jobs in that market. Yet every day, unsuccessful job seekers go looking for jobs in their geography that don't exist, or won't pay them enough on which to live their lifestyle. The successful know what is being recruited for, who is recruiting, and at what rates

4. They do some research on that employer: when they find what looks like a suitable job advert, they research that employer. The best often do this at multiple levels, through both reading the companies website and news reports, through to networking themselves into and around that organisation

5. They engage with employers BEFORE they apply: many professional employees get confused by the new world of recruitment. They think that the whole world is driven by job boards. Ah, wrong! People still employ people. While possibly utilising multiple techniques to find new potential positions, at the core of their search and application technique, successful job seekers always engage at the human level with a potential employer, often BEFORE they apply

6. They only apply for positions that they are suitable for: one of the statistics that most struck me, was that the most successful job seekers often applied for fewer than 10 positions, and yet the least successful often had statistics showing 100's or 1000's of applications. The successful only applied for the jobs where they knew they fitted the requirements. If you have applied for and been rejected from more than 20 positions, there is something wrong in your application technique

7. They get close to the hiring manager: as people employ people, then the most important person in any successful employment exercise - yes, beyond the successful applicant themselves - is the hiring manager. The hiring manager always has the final hire or reject decision. Successful employees get closer to the hiring manager early

8. They offer more than what is on their CV/resume: while many try to over write their CV's and resumes, trying to claim skills, experiences, or at worst qualifications that they neither have done or don't have, successful job seekers reveal more of the depth of their capability as their application progresses. This means that they don't over claim, they just have more communicated capability around the claimed skills

9. They know what they are worth: over 20% of successful job applicants fail to get the position because they didn't ask the first questions first: what could and should this job pay in this market, and what does this position actually pay? Before you apply, know what its worth in the current market, and hence what you could and can negotiate with that employer

10.They listen to feedback: this is a key issue for unsuccessful job seekers, that in my experience they never apply, and yet the successful are always aware of. The unsuccessful stop listening, and therefore stop learning, and hence become less successful in their now elongated job search. The wise and successful listen to both market experts, and learn to apply what works for them

Job search success is not a mere bagatelle in any market, and success has as much to do with approach and technique, as it has to do with what you offer and the type of position you seek.

So if any job will do, and just applying to adverts is your choice, then expect to go beyond the average current unemployment time scale of 37 weeks. But if you know what you want, and apply some easily learnt techniques that communicate your value clearly to a potential employer, then job search success can easily be yours. It really is just a matter of choice, application and resultant success.

Good Luck!

Ian R McAllister is the founder of a UK group focused on recruitment and employment in skills-short professional employment sectors, presently covering IT, telecoms and project management. The group also provides professional candidate information and services via a series of online resources, including the Professional CV and Executive CV services

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Top 5 Ways To Make Yourself More Marketable While You're Unemployed

Does this sound familiar: you've been out of work for more than a few months and you're at your wit's end. Your resume is posted on all the social networking sites; you've contacted every former colleague and old high school buddy you can think of; and you've applied to every job posting in your field since last November.

You're stuck and don't know what to do next.

While you're obviously going to keep job hunting, here are some out-of-the-box ideas that will not only keep you busy, but they'll help build your resume while you're out of work. Who knows--they may just even lead to your next job.

Live and Work Abroad

Maybe once upon a time you dreamed of packing up your things and moving to another country, but you were worried about what it might do to your resume. If you're out of work and looking for what's next, now might be the perfect time to work and live abroad.

Living abroad will not only give you a chance to experience another culture and learn another language, but if you play your cards right, you can get paid to do it. Working as an au pair, or working for one of many English-teaching programs, for example, can provide you the funds you need to live and work in Japan, Korea, France, and a whole host of other countries.

Volunteer

One of the worst things about being unemployed is being stuck in the house all day. Get back into the world by volunteering. Helping out at your local animal shelter, homeless center, or religious organization will get you out of the house and around people.

In addition, it will help fill that gap on your resume, give you a sense of personal fulfillment, and it may even introduce you to a potential contact, client or colleague.

Freelance

These days, many companies would rather hire a short-term consultant than hire another FTE (full-time employee). You may not realize it, but you probably have marketable skills that could help you work you way to your next job, and bring in some serious cash while you're doing it.

Think about what experience you have, and how you can market yourself. If you worked in marketing, advertising, public relations, or communications, you probably have the writing skills to work as a freelance writer and editor. If you're a former IT/computer science professional, try offering your web design services to smaller companies and start-ups who can't afford an in-house webmaster. If you once worked as an art director, take your skills and start a freelance graphic design business.

In addition to earning a few extra dollars, freelance projects can help grow your personal network and portfolio, and may even lead to a relationship with a future employer.

Brush Up on Your Skills

If you graduated from school awhile ago, chances are your industry has changed slightly since you last hit the books. Take your time off as an opportunity to get up to speed on the latest technologies, software products, and paradigm shifts in your career field.

A fast, inexpensive way to update your education is to take a certification class. Certification classes can range from a few weeks to a few months, depending on the level of commitment and information you are seeking. Best of all, they can show a future employer your personal drive and motivation, as well as add a continuing education component to your resume.

Find Temporary Work

If a full-time position just isn't presenting itself, consider employment at a temp agency or staffing firm. These organizations will test your skills and then match them to a company who needs a worker to fill in for another employee who's out sick, on vacation, or on maternity leave.

While some positions are short-term and may only last a few days, other "temp-to-permanent" positions can segue your temp job into a full-time career. Either way, these opportunities give you a chance to network, add to your resume, and put some money in your pocket.

Noel Rozny writes the bi-weekly career blog mypathfinder for the myFootpath website. myFootpath is a resource to help you in your search for a college, degree program, career, graduate school, and non-traditional experiences. Visit www.myfootpath.com to start your college or degree program search.